Woke up and had breakfast in the hostel of pancakes drenched in maple syrup. They love that stuff over here, they even put it on bacon and eggs - a bit too sickly in the morning for me!!!
We got picked up in a mini bus by the company who are taking us to Niagra falls. It took about an hour before the bus had stopped at all the pick up points, then we were off. The first stop, strangely, was a winery!?! We tasted 3 wines and then they tried to flogg us some expensive wine - no one bought any. I cant see how they expect backpackers to fork out 30 quid for a bottle of wine - wouldnt be suprised if the driver had shares in the winery!
Then we drove onto the falls.
The first thing we saw, which shocked me a bit, was a canny big town with massive hotels, casinos and a blackpool style pleasure beach right next to the falls. I'd imagined that we would drive out into the country side and the falls would just be there all solitary. Instead they've built a tourist attraction complex around it, and by attractions I mean Walzers, ghost trains, haunted houses, big wheels, candy floss and all that gash!!!!!
We had about 3 hours to walk around and see the falls. They are amazing like! The size is unbelievable and the volume of water that goes over them bends your head a little bit. We saw the horse shoe falls from the top and the American falls from the Canadian side then got on the Maid of the Mist boat that sails right up to the foot of the horseshoe falls and right inside the mist -it was an incredible sight seeing all that water coming over and landing only meters away, at one point you couldnt see anything as the mist was so thick.
Met back up with the bus and drove to Niagra on the lake for a look round, stopping to see the worlds largest natural whirlpool.
Got back to Toronto about 8pm and went for food in this pub just round the corner from the hostel. Had my first taste of catfish which was well nice!! On the way back I got a compliment of this camp fella waiting to go into this club 'Love yer tash buddy' I think thats what he said anyhow!!!
Saturday, 9 May 2009
WHERE YOU COME FROM DO YOU PUT THE KETTLE ON?
What a night in that hostel!!!
Firstly this French lad (there's loads of french here) who I'm assuming works for the hostel started cleaning the toilets right outside our room at 1am and had the gaul to sing whilst he did it!! Then a bunch of more ignorant French lads came in about 3am shouting their mouths off and banging on the walls - obviously they couldnt handle there grape juice or what ever they drink!! Then at 6am the straining man made an appearance, I cant be sure that he was French but lets assume he was since Im having a go at them. He was the strangest, he'd go to the toilet and make a really loud painfull straining noise then swear!! The word he used could have been describing what he had just done - Bizzarre!!
The French are temporarily off my Christmas card list!!!!
Firstly this French lad (there's loads of french here) who I'm assuming works for the hostel started cleaning the toilets right outside our room at 1am and had the gaul to sing whilst he did it!! Then a bunch of more ignorant French lads came in about 3am shouting their mouths off and banging on the walls - obviously they couldnt handle there grape juice or what ever they drink!! Then at 6am the straining man made an appearance, I cant be sure that he was French but lets assume he was since Im having a go at them. He was the strangest, he'd go to the toilet and make a really loud painfull straining noise then swear!! The word he used could have been describing what he had just done - Bizzarre!!
The French are temporarily off my Christmas card list!!!!
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
TORONTO
Got out into Toronto with a few chores we had to do:
1. Go and pick up our train tickets for New York
2. Book a trip to Niagra falls
3. Get cash out (which is nearly impossible in Canada, there is literally only one bank that recognises Visa)
4. Buy a phone card - so we could phone our neice Chloe on her 3rd birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE
Walked around Toronto for a couple of hours. Its pretty big but unfortunately not that big on being pretty. Alot of the buildings are concrete adn grey - a bit drab looking. Its got a canny atmosphere though, so I could imagine it being a canny place to work but not sure its the greatest place to visit!! So we caught a street car (tram) out of the city to a place called the beaches in the suburbs, which was pretty cool. We walked along the shore of Lake Ontario, which I thought was the Atlantic Ocean but was proved wrong when I licked it and it was fresh water!!
Saw these weird chocolate brown squirrels!!
Went for a coffee and a chill in a coffee shop then trammed it back into Toronto where we walked around for an hour or so and saw a statue or Churchill (Winston not that dog of the adverts)
Walked round the keyside in the evening and had a gander at the CN tower which is massive.
Off to Niagra falls the morra!!!!!
1. Go and pick up our train tickets for New York
2. Book a trip to Niagra falls
3. Get cash out (which is nearly impossible in Canada, there is literally only one bank that recognises Visa)
4. Buy a phone card - so we could phone our neice Chloe on her 3rd birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE
Walked around Toronto for a couple of hours. Its pretty big but unfortunately not that big on being pretty. Alot of the buildings are concrete adn grey - a bit drab looking. Its got a canny atmosphere though, so I could imagine it being a canny place to work but not sure its the greatest place to visit!! So we caught a street car (tram) out of the city to a place called the beaches in the suburbs, which was pretty cool. We walked along the shore of Lake Ontario, which I thought was the Atlantic Ocean but was proved wrong when I licked it and it was fresh water!!
Saw these weird chocolate brown squirrels!!
Went for a coffee and a chill in a coffee shop then trammed it back into Toronto where we walked around for an hour or so and saw a statue or Churchill (Winston not that dog of the adverts)
Walked round the keyside in the evening and had a gander at the CN tower which is massive.
Off to Niagra falls the morra!!!!!
WEST TO EAST
Left Vancouver the day for Toronto. Got up before the sun did, packed our bags up, (AGAIN!!! Not going to miss packing up me backpack everyday) and walked to the bus stop in the dark.
Uneventful flight to Toronto. It took 4 hours which suprised me, forgot how big America and Canada are. Theres also a 3 hour time difference between west and east coast.
Asked a fella in information the best was to get to downtown Toronto - $22 airport shuttle each or $50 taxi he said, then we managed to squeeze out of him that you could just buy a $2.75 transit ticket catch a bus then a subway then a street car (tram) on the same fare - so we did that!!
Got to the hostel late afternoon, not feeling to great at the moment - hoping its just the cat allergy still having a go but Heathers feeling the same - fingers crossed!
Went out to try and pick up our Amtrack tickets to New York from the station but it clsoed at 1pm. So went for some food in a pub near Union station and tried to kill our germs with a few pints and whiskey's.
*WARNING* - Rant coming on!!
Throughout America and Canada we have felt a bit ripped off when going out for food and drinks. The advertised prices are way above prices at home, probably 50% higher, but you can sort of deal with that since you know your'e in a major city so you can expect you food and drinks to cost a bit more. But then the bill comes and they have added on a GST (general service tax), an alcohol tax and another state tax - Now that really gets my goat!!
Secret, hidden, snidey little taxes they dont tell you about. So a $6 pint of beers turns into a $8.50 pint, which is totaly ridiculous! Then, THEN the waitress wants a 20% tip for bring you it or is it a tip for wearing a short skirt?!? - Im sure its your service we're tipping love not how long you can make your legs look!!! c'mon man !!!
Its not just the drinks its food as well, extra taxes are added on to the prices advertised on the menu and then dont forget the tip - its criminal man - makes my blood boil!!!
*RANT OWER*
Uneventful flight to Toronto. It took 4 hours which suprised me, forgot how big America and Canada are. Theres also a 3 hour time difference between west and east coast.
Asked a fella in information the best was to get to downtown Toronto - $22 airport shuttle each or $50 taxi he said, then we managed to squeeze out of him that you could just buy a $2.75 transit ticket catch a bus then a subway then a street car (tram) on the same fare - so we did that!!
Got to the hostel late afternoon, not feeling to great at the moment - hoping its just the cat allergy still having a go but Heathers feeling the same - fingers crossed!
Went out to try and pick up our Amtrack tickets to New York from the station but it clsoed at 1pm. So went for some food in a pub near Union station and tried to kill our germs with a few pints and whiskey's.
*WARNING* - Rant coming on!!
Throughout America and Canada we have felt a bit ripped off when going out for food and drinks. The advertised prices are way above prices at home, probably 50% higher, but you can sort of deal with that since you know your'e in a major city so you can expect you food and drinks to cost a bit more. But then the bill comes and they have added on a GST (general service tax), an alcohol tax and another state tax - Now that really gets my goat!!
Secret, hidden, snidey little taxes they dont tell you about. So a $6 pint of beers turns into a $8.50 pint, which is totaly ridiculous! Then, THEN the waitress wants a 20% tip for bring you it or is it a tip for wearing a short skirt?!? - Im sure its your service we're tipping love not how long you can make your legs look!!! c'mon man !!!
Its not just the drinks its food as well, extra taxes are added on to the prices advertised on the menu and then dont forget the tip - its criminal man - makes my blood boil!!!
*RANT OWER*
I HEART VANCOUVER MORE
Hired bike today. Rode them round Stanley park which was good to get a bit of exercise and burn off some burgers. We ate so many burgers in America, its just so much easier and cheaper to grab a burger plus they taste amazing and are massive over here!
Stanley park is quality, they've got bike lanes and roller blade lanes that go all over the park. We saw some original totem poles which was cool.
Spent the afternoon wandering round and taking in Vancouver. Had tea in this little cafe selling homemade soup, which did the job!!!
Up early the morn to catch a flight to Toronto, worked out we've got to catch two buses, first one at 5:45am. It'll be a shame leaving Vancouver as its been so good!!!
Stanley park is quality, they've got bike lanes and roller blade lanes that go all over the park. We saw some original totem poles which was cool.
Spent the afternoon wandering round and taking in Vancouver. Had tea in this little cafe selling homemade soup, which did the job!!!
Up early the morn to catch a flight to Toronto, worked out we've got to catch two buses, first one at 5:45am. It'll be a shame leaving Vancouver as its been so good!!!
VANCOUVER
Had our breakfast in a canny little cafe in Gastown, which is a cool trendy part of the city. Sat and read the sunday papers and had a few cups of tea and killed a bit of time as we cant check into our next hostel till 11.
Walked about 10 minutes to the next hostel which feels more like and English style B & B. Its quite small and is basically someones house that they rent rooms out. The couple live in the house. Its a lovely old house and we had the loft conversion which felt like a self contained flat. The only thing is that the house is full of cats!! 3 of them stared to molest our bags as soon as our backs were turned when checking in. There were 3 more in our bedroom when we first went in. I scared them off and managed to punt one of them as it went past. Im swallowing antihistamines like no ones buisiness as I dont want to be sniffing and wheezing going through the airport in a couple of days and get arrested for having swine flu!!
Spent the afternoon walking round Vancouver. It brilliant here, I love it, feels a bit like Seattle but better. Youve got every thing you would ever want from a city, massive buildings, a cool skyline, countryside, parks, amazing scenery.
Went over to Glenville island, on an aquabus, where all the artists hang out. It was canny good just chilling out there.
Spent the evening watching some DVDs in our little pretent flat. They've got about 1000 DVDs as they haven't got any cable channels.
Found out them mountains are not the Rockies but the Ocean or Coastal range!!!
Walked about 10 minutes to the next hostel which feels more like and English style B & B. Its quite small and is basically someones house that they rent rooms out. The couple live in the house. Its a lovely old house and we had the loft conversion which felt like a self contained flat. The only thing is that the house is full of cats!! 3 of them stared to molest our bags as soon as our backs were turned when checking in. There were 3 more in our bedroom when we first went in. I scared them off and managed to punt one of them as it went past. Im swallowing antihistamines like no ones buisiness as I dont want to be sniffing and wheezing going through the airport in a couple of days and get arrested for having swine flu!!
Spent the afternoon walking round Vancouver. It brilliant here, I love it, feels a bit like Seattle but better. Youve got every thing you would ever want from a city, massive buildings, a cool skyline, countryside, parks, amazing scenery.
Went over to Glenville island, on an aquabus, where all the artists hang out. It was canny good just chilling out there.
Spent the evening watching some DVDs in our little pretent flat. They've got about 1000 DVDs as they haven't got any cable channels.
Found out them mountains are not the Rockies but the Ocean or Coastal range!!!
LITERALLY SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE AND A BORDER CROSSING
Tried to get an early night last night as we were getting up at stupid o'clock to catch the Greyhound. It didnt work, woke up at 2am and didnt sleep the rest of the night - gutted.
Filled up on the free breakfast and Heather nicked some muffins and biscuits and that for the coach ride.
Got to the Greyhound station at about 7:30am and waited till 9am till the bus arrived. A ticket doesn't guarentee you a seat on the bus, its first come first served. so we stood in line for the whole time!!
The bus stopped at the Boarder so we could get through passport control which took and age to get through. Got back on the bus and on to Vancouver. Arrived at Vancouver Greyhound mid afternoon and caight the sky train near to our hostel. Then headed out looking for some Candian dollars as about half a dozen cash points would accept our cards.
Saw a pharmacy called London Drugs!!!
There seems to be only only bank in Vancouver that would yeild us any money!!!
Had a canny night in this microbrewery pubwatching the ice hockey on the big screens they had and drinking the local ales. Had a canny view of some more of them black snow capped mountains.
Filled up on the free breakfast and Heather nicked some muffins and biscuits and that for the coach ride.
Got to the Greyhound station at about 7:30am and waited till 9am till the bus arrived. A ticket doesn't guarentee you a seat on the bus, its first come first served. so we stood in line for the whole time!!
The bus stopped at the Boarder so we could get through passport control which took and age to get through. Got back on the bus and on to Vancouver. Arrived at Vancouver Greyhound mid afternoon and caight the sky train near to our hostel. Then headed out looking for some Candian dollars as about half a dozen cash points would accept our cards.
Saw a pharmacy called London Drugs!!!
There seems to be only only bank in Vancouver that would yeild us any money!!!
Had a canny night in this microbrewery pubwatching the ice hockey on the big screens they had and drinking the local ales. Had a canny view of some more of them black snow capped mountains.
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